Jim Nabors of 'Gomer Pyle' fame marries male partner of 38 years

Jim Nabors, shown at the TV Land Awards in 2004, has married Stan Cadwallader,… (Frank Micelotta / Getty…)

Jim Nabors, beloved to audiences as TV's Gomer Pyle, has married Stan Cadwallader, his partner of 38 years.

The wedding took place Jan. 15 in front of a judge at a Seattle hotel, said Hawaii News Now, which first reported the news Tuesday. Washington state legalized gay marriage in December

"I'm not ashamed of people knowing. It's just that it was such a personal thing, I didn't tell anybody," said Nabors, 82, a resident of Honolulu. "I'm very happy that I've had a partner of 38 years, and I feel very blessed."

Nabors and 64-year-old Cadwallader, then a firefighter, met in 1975 in Honolulu.

"The Andy Griffith Show" and "Gomer Pyle, USMC" alum told Hawaii News Now that he hadn't acknowledged his sexuality before to the media, though he said he was open about it to friends and co-workers when he was working in Hollywood in the 1960s and '70s.

"I haven't ever made a public spectacle of it. Well, I've known since I was a child, so, come on. It's not that kind of a thing. I've never made a huge secret of it at all," Nabors said.